All Whites defender Michael Boxall said there were plenty of positives from the first tour under new Head Coach Fritz Schmid.

The 29-year-old centre-half, who was given the captain’s arm-band for the first time in Spain, said that while they didn’t get the result they were after against the World No 90 Canada, there were a number of good signs in the 1-0 loss at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia.

Boxall, a key member of the All Whites' last World Cup cycle, said their relatively inexperienced squad of 24 players should be proud of their first up effort which is something to build on.

“It was a pretty positive performance from a fairly young squad,” Boxall said following the game. 

In the windy conditions, the All Whites could have taken the lead twice within the first 12 minutes when experienced midfielder Michael McGlinchey hit the left upright and then 60 seconds later hit the right upright.

“I think Mikey’s next shot was going to hit the crossbar,” joked Boxall. “The young boys put themselves around the park really well.  There were quite a few debutants today (four players – Sarpreet Singh, Andre De Jong, Max Crocombe and Adam Mitchell) which is a good sign for New Zealand Football. Hopefully we can continue growing as a team and moving forward.”

Boxall, who plays for Minnesota United in the MLS, said the squad only had a short time together, two or sessions with the full squad.  They had a number of meetings and the new coach gave the squad a general framework to work with. 

He was impressed by the performance of Auckland City’s Cam Howieson and Eastern Suburbs’ Tim Payne in the midfield. The pair, who have been standouts in the ISPS Handa Premiership this season, made the most of their return to international football. 

“In front of me Cam Howieson and Tim Payne did a wonderful job, particularly in that first 45 minutes where we made it uneasy for Canada. They made a few tactical changes in the first half which isn’t too normal at this level and speaks volumes for how difficult we made it for them.

“Teenager Sarpreet Singh who had his first tour with the national team, watching him this week I know he is going to be an exciting young player and he did himself absolutely no harm when he came on. The same could be said for a lot of our young players and it is a good starting block, but there is still a lot of work to do.” 

He said most of the players felt more comfortable with Schmid’s preference for a back four, that is how most of them play for their clubs, and it allowed them to get more players higher up the pitch and in more attacking areas.

Boxall said he went into the tour not knowing what to expect. They had a new-look team and significantly less experience than their last international against Peru in FIFA World Cup Qualifying in November. But he said in training all of the new boys showed their quality.

“Myer Bevan and Andre De Jong were very tidy up top when they came on and they made a few top MLS centre-halves look a bit average. Once they get some more regular game time under their belts for their clubs, it is only going to help the national team when players like Woodsy (Chris Wood) are injured or unavailable.”

Boxall said the important thing he wanted from the tour was for the team to not remain in the last World Cup cycle, they had to move forward.

“We have a new coach coming in, and he will bring a different style of play but the team culture and what we stand for has to remain consistent.”

Boxall said it was a huge honour to captain the side in the absence of regular skippers Winston Reid and Chris Wood.

“It was pretty special, the 100 or so people that were there didn’t recognise me as well as they should have,” he said with a laugh.  “But it was pretty special and our other players like Brocks [Jeremy Brockie], Marco [Rojas] and Mikey [McGlinchey] helped with leading the team. This was a good start and something we build from.”

The All Whites are hoping to play in the FIFA International Window in June.